Castles

remember what it was.

'I love you, Alesandra.'

It had been difficult telling her what was in his heart, yet once the words were spoken, he felt incredibly free. He smiled at his wife and said the words again.

She bounded off the bed and frowned up at him. 'You do not love me,' she announced.

'I sure as hell do,' he argued. 'If you would apply a little reason…'

'I did use reason,' she interrupted. 'And came to the opposite conclusion.'

'Sweetheart…'

'Don't you dare'sweetheart' me,' she cried out.

Colin reached for her but she eluded him by sitting down again. 'Oh, I reasoned it through and through and through. Shall I tell you my conclusions?'

She didn't give him time to answer her. 'You have turned your back on everything I had to give you. It would be illogical for me to assume you love me.'

'I've what?' he asked, stunned by the vehemence in her voice. 'You've rejected everything,' she whispered.

'Exactly what have I rejected?'

'My title, my position, my castle, my inheritance-even my help with your company.'

He finally understood. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. She tried to push herself away from him. They fell onto the bed. Colin protected her from his weight as he stretched out on top of her. He pinned the lower part of her body with his thighs and braced himself on his elbows so he could look down at her.

Her hair spilled out on the pillows and her eyes, cloudy with unshed tears, made her appear more vulnerable to him. Dear God, she was beautiful-even when she was glaring at him. 'I love you, Alesandra,' he whispered. 'And I have taken everything you had to give me.'

She started to protest. He wouldn't let her. He clamped his hand over her mouth so she couldn't interrupt him. 'I rejected nothing of value. You offered me all a man could ever want. You gave me your love, your trust, your loyalty, your mind, your heart, and your body. None of those offerings is material, sweetheart, and if you lost all the financial trappings that came along with you, it wouldn't matter to me. You're all I have ever wanted. Now do you understand?'

She was overwhelmed by his beautiful words. His eyes were actually misty, and she knew then that it had been difficult for him to tell her how he felt. Colin did love her. She was so filled with joy, she burst into tears.

'Love, don't cry,' he pleaded. 'It's very upsetting for me to see you so miserable.'

She tried to stop crying long enough to explain she wasn't miserable at all. Colin moved his hand away from her mouth and gently wiped her tears away.

'I didn't have anything to give you when I married you,' he told her. 'And yet… on our wedding night I knew you loved me. I had trouble accepting it at first. It seemed so damned unfair to you. I should have remembered a comment you made to me about the prince regent. That reminder would have saved both of us a good deal of worry.'

'What comment did I make?'

'I told you I'd heard the prince regent was taken with you,' he answered. 'Do you remember what you said to me then?'

She did remember. 'I told you he was taken with what I am, not who I am.'

'Well?' he demanded in a rough whisper.

'Well, what?'

Her smile was radiant. She finally understood.

'I thought you were fairly intelligent,' he drawled out.

'You love me.'

'Yes.'

He leaned down and kissed her. She sighed into his mouth. When he pulled away, she looked properly convinced.

'Have you also worked it out in your mind?' she asked.

He didn't understand what she meant by her question. He was busy unbuttoning the top of her gown. 'Worked out what?'

'That I fell in love with who you are, not what you are,' she answered. 'It was your strength and courage that drew me to you, Colin. I needed both.'

He was so pleased with his wife he had to kiss her again. 'I needed you,' he admitted.

He wanted to kiss her again. She wanted to talk. 'Colin, you present yourself to the world as a man struggling to build a company.'

'I am a man struggling to build a company.'

He rolled to his side so he could get her robe and gown off her more quickly.

'You aren't a pauper,' she announced. She sat up in bed and started tugging her robe off her shoulders. Colin helped her.

'I had a good look at your books, remember? You've made an amazing profit, but you poured every bit of it back into the operation and the result is very impressive. You've been trying to build an empire, but if you'll only step back and take a good look you'll realize you've already accomplished your goal. Why, you have close to twenty ships now with cargo orders stretching into next year and that must surely convince you that your company is no longer a struggling venture.'

He was having trouble listening to what she was telling him. She'd shed her robe and was now inching her gown up over her head. His throat tightened up on him. She finally got rid of the barrier. He immediately reached for her. She shook her head at him. 'First, I would like you to answer a question for me, please.'

He might have nodded but he couldn't be certain. A fire burned inside him and all he wanted to do was bury himself in her. He was so damn anxious to touch her, he was literally destroying his shirt in his hurry to get the thing off.

'Colin, when is enough enough?'

Her question required concentration. He didn't have any to spare.

'I'll never be able to get enough of you.'

'Nor I you,' she whispered. 'But that isn't what I was asking…'

Colin silenced her with his mouth. She couldn't resist him a moment longer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave in to the wonder of his passion… and his love.

He was demanding, yet incredibly gentle with her at the same time. His touch was magical, and while she was in the throes of her own blissful surrender, he told her again and again how much he loved her.

She would have told him she loved him, too, but Colin had worn her out and she couldn't find the strength to speak. She rolled onto her back, closed her eyes, and listened to her pounding heartbeat while the air cooled her feverish skin.

He rolled to his side, propped his head up on his hand, and grinned down at her. He looked thoroughly satisfied.

He stroked a path from her chin to her belly, and then his hand gently rubbed the flat of her stomach.

'Sweetheart, do you have something you want to tell me?'

She was feeling too content to think about anything other than what had just happened to her.

Colin was going to nag her until she told him about the baby, but Flannaghan started banging on the bedroom door then, interrupting that intention.

'Milord, your brother's here. I put him in the study.'

'I'll be right there,' Colin shouted.

He muttered about his brother's bad timing. Alesandra laughed. She didn't bother to open her eyes when she said, 'It would have been bad timing ten minutes ago. I would say he was being very considerate.'

He agreed with that assessment. He started to leave the bed, then turned back to her. She opened her eyes just in time to watch him lean over her and place a kiss on her navel. She brushed her hand across his shoulder. The hair on the back of his neck curled around her fingers.

Colin was letting his hair grow long again. That sudden realization hit her all at once. She was so pleased she